Air-compressor



. 5 s eeeee -Sheet 1. LA VERNE W. NOYES.

A RRRRRRRRRRR R.

N0.563,794. PatentedJulyl4, 1896.

110 Modl.)

5 Sheets-Shet 2. LA VERNE NYES.

AIR. MPRESSOR.

Patentad July 14, 1896.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

LA VERNE W. NOYES. AIR GOMPEESSOR.

No. 563,794. Patented July 14, 1896.;

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

LA- VERNE W. NOY]EIS- AIR UOMPRESSOR.

No. 563,794, Patented Juy 14, 1896 UNITED STATES PATENT rrren.

LA VERNE W. N OYES, OF CIIIOAGO, ILLNOIS.

AIRCOIVIPRESSOR.

SPECIFICATIGN ormngpart of Letters Patent N0. 563,794, dated July 14, 1898.

Application iied December 31, 1894. Seriai No. 533,433. (No mndel.)

Be ii kn0wn that I, LA. VERRE W. NOYES, aeii-izen of the United States, residing at Chicag0, in the county of 0001: and State of 111i nois, have invented a certain new and usefn1 Imgrovernent in Ai1.C0mpressors, of which the fellowing is a specification;

115 in vention relates te air-con1 pressi n g inachin es or air-cempressors (as i hey are e0m 1neniy termed) adapted t0 condense, air as a motive fluid or '0r ether purposes and comprising a set of aircompressing pistoneylin ders arranged in annnlarseries and provided wth differentially-operating pistons, that is te say, with pistons whieh reciprocate non-eeineidently.

In an air-compressor charaeterized by my inventinn the air is co1npressed by the action of pistons in cyiinders, and is allowed to escape bef0re the approaehing pstons throngh a va1ved passage to snch reservoir or storage means as may be empleyed.

- The piston-cyinders are arranged in annular series and are provided with differentiailyoperating pistons. The set of piston-eylinders revolves in nnis0n with one of the members of a rotary diseharge-valve, which is ported te discharge the conipressed air from the pistcncylinders successively, by which arrangement I can provide tbe rotary member of such vah*e wth the pistencylinders, and a1so I can arrange the pisten-cylinders np0n a wind-wheel and adapt the hub 0f sueh whee1 te form one of the members of said va1ve. W'here t=he set of pisten-ey1inders is i;hns carried by a wnd-wheel, which serves as a motive power, the ports of the rotary in ember of the vave lead to the piston-cylinders, and since such member operates in conjnnc tien wioh another ported member the diseharge-ontlets from the piston-cylinders will be pesitvely opened and c10sed dnring the rotation of the whee], and as a direct resnlt of sneh rotatcn.

The piston-rcds project from i111e enter ends of the eyinders, and are cansed to operate byreason of a series of pit-men, which are severa1ly pivoted to file piston-r0ds and tied t0 snng about a center eccentrie to the center 01 arbor abont whieh the pistemcylinders are arran ged. The piston-cylinders con1d be held sfationary, and said eccentric, t-o which the pitmen are tied, eouid be the wrist-pin of a 18V01U1316 crank arranged t0 carry en 011 pin in a cirenlar path abont a point centra-1 to the annn1ar series of piston-eylinders, bui; as a preferred arrangement and matter of special imprevernent the annn1ar set 0f pistcncyinders revolves, while the center about whieh the pitmen are. arranged te swing is fixed. This arrangement eanses a differeniai aetion en '0he part of the pistons, whereby, while some of them compress air within their respeetivelyallotied cylinders, others are making reverse strokes, and hence the operation of condensation and service wi1 be centinuons.

The provision of a hnb er head, comprising 0r provid ed With a series of pistoncylinders and having a series of ports leading from the back or inner ende of the piston-eylinders and arranged radia1 er snbstantially so to a ported hollow arbor about Whieh the head rev01ves, involves an antomatie valve action whereby (he said ports in the head are snecessive]y opened and clcsed sa-id ports being suecessively bronght int0 communication with the conducting-passage in the arbor, s0

'00 diseharge therein, and after such discharge carried out of register and automatica11y closed. Hence the diseharge will be eontinnous, and at the same time 1;11e eylinders wi11 communieate wiinh the conduetingpassage 0111y at snob tin1es as they are brought ino0 service te discharge condensed air. With this arrangement, therefore, a cheek-valve in the cenductingpassage ecnld be dispensed wth, since back pressure within the arbor 01 c0ndu et-ing-passage wi11 he met and oiereoine by the constantlj* nflowing eondensed air, and will have no opportunity of gaining access to the eylinders in whch the pistons are 1naking return strokes, since such cyiinders will be closed during sueh periode.

Varions ether matters of detail, eonstrnc tien, and arrangement serving to provide a highly erfieient air-compressor are hereinaf ter fully set forth in eonnection With ihe ac companying drawings, in whieh Figure 1 represents in sidee1er ation ai1 aircompressor embodying my invention and app1ied te a wind-wheel. Fig. 2 is a seetion taken vertiealiy and eentraily throngh Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represen ts, partly in side elevation and partly in longitndinal section, the anmflar series of piston-eylinders, said view als inelnd ing the pistons and portions of some of the pitmen. Fig. 4: is a seeton taken tl1rougl1 the greater pertion of Fig. on line ze 00. Fig. 5 is a seetion on line Y/ 1 in Fig'. -L. Fig. 0 is a seetion taken eentrally and longitudinally throngh a portion of the l1ollew arbor, ab0nt whieh the annular set of pistoneylin ders revolves. Fg. 7 represents en a larger scale a longtudinal seetion throngh one of the pistonheads and a portien of its allotted eylinder, the plane of seetion tlnogh the pistenhead being indieated by line 2 in Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a seetion taken on line .2 s in Fig. 7, looking upwardly, s0 as to show the piston-head. Fig. 0 shews in side elew*ation the annular set of piston-eylinders and illus trates an arrangement whereby tl1e pisteneylinders are arranged tangential te tl1e arbor in a way to per1nt tl1e pistons doing tl1e greater werk te be parallel with their alletted pitmen.

In said drawings the pisten-eylinders A are rigid with and project from a l1ead 01 hub on one. end of a slee"e B, arranged te form the hub of a wind-wheel 0. In tl1is way I pr0 vide at the center of the wheel a multiple eylinder-l1ead, whiel1 revolves in nnis0n with the wheel, and whieh earries a series of pisten eylinders arranged fora eerresponding series of. pistons D. The heads 1 of the pstons werk within the eylinders A, and the rods 2 of said pistons pr0jeet from the enter ends the eylnders and werk through guide-bearin gs, whieh are eonveniently formed byeast ings E, seeured npon tl1e enter endsof tl1e eylinders and adapted to provide bearings 3 at said ends of the eylinders, and bearings4 at points somewhat re1n0te from the same The eylinders may be rigidly seenred te er they can be made integral with the 111113 01 head, and any further suitable means f0r braeing the eylinders aan he e1nployed. For example, tl1e rods 5 of the wheel ean be seeured te lngs 6 en the Outer end portions of the eylinders. lVl1ere the set of pistons are te be operated from a point Which is fixed witl1 relation to the rev0lnble set of pistons and whieh is eecentrie to the ax1"s abont whieh the set of piston-cylinders revolve, I provide for the pistons a eorresponding series of pitn1en I, l1aving tl1eir inner ends 1naintained upon a bearingvhieli is eeeentrie to the axis about whieh the set of. pistens re"olve, and having their enter ends eonneeted With the pistons.

The hearing G l1erein provided for the i11- ner ends of the pitn1en is arranged te revolve upon the wrist-pin 7 01 a crank II, whieh is preferablyrigid with one end of a stationary arbor 8, provided for sleeve B. The inner ends of the pit1nen are desirably reeeived within an annnlar reeess of the hearing G, and are pivotally held within said reeess by pins 9. By snel1 arrangement tl1e pitn1en are free to swing about a fixed center wl1ieh is eeeentrie to the axis abont whieh the set of piston-eylinders revolve, and sinee tl1e pitmen are pivotallyconneeted with the pistons earried by said cylinders the pistons will be operated by a rotation en the part of the head eomprising a series of piston-eylinders 1 as aforesaid. Tl1e aetions of the pistons will neeessarily be timed by the bodily rotation of the set of eylinders and pist0ns abont an axis eeeentrie to the hearing te whiel1 the pistons are tied by the pit1nen, an illustra tien of the two extremes of tl1row 01 str0ke en tl1e part of we direetly oppesite pistons being shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 9.

The piston-eylinders may be deseribed as radiating from a hnbor head, f0r GXZIJDPlG and for the broader purposes of 1nyi1wention they may be se eonsidered; bnt as a matter of furtl1er D1P1OVGTIQHD these e3-linders are set tangential to the arbor for the purpose 01 temporarily bringing sueh pistonas may be doing tl1e greatest amonnt of work parallel 01 nearly parallel with its allotted pitinan whereby a more direct pull is attained and the resistanee te be overeome lessened. Tl1us in Figs. 1 and 3 the piston-eylinder at the highest p0nt is understoed te have just eempleted its diseharge, while the one at the left of the same is diseharging eondensed air.

In Fig. 1 the pit1nen eonneeted with the pistons of said eylinders are not strietly parallel with the same but inFig. 9 the tangential arrangement of pistoneylinders is sneh that said pistons and pit-men are parallel at the point of diseharge;

The rotary 11111) 01 l1ead B, whieh earries Ll1e set of pist0n-eylinders, is 1neunted np0n a sl1aft er arbor 8, wl1ieh latter is made hollew and adapted for conneetion with any suitabl storage tank er reservoir by pipe eonneetion I.

The hollow arb0r 8 is also adapted te reeeive eompressed air from the piston-eylnders, and to sueh end it is provided With a port so arranged tl1at during the revolntion of the set of pisten-eylinders said cylinders will sueeessix ely eoxnn1unicate therewith. Tw0 or more eylinders 1nay through the medium of suitable ports connnnnieate With the air-condneting passage 1 lformedthrou gl1 arbor 8, the arrangement of ports in Fig. 3 being adapted te permit tl1e piston-eylinders to tl1ns eomnmnieate witl1 said passage successively in pairs. Thns in Fig'. 3 tw0 cylinders are shown in eonnnunieation Witl1 passage 11.

'With referenee to the arrangement of portage, t11e hollow arbor is provided with a latera1 port 12, eommnnieating Witl1 passage ll,

formed within said arb0r. Tl1e eylinders ha"e tl1eir inner ends interiorily eonneeted with ports 01 passages 13, whieh latter are radial te arb0r 8 and arranged through the eentral portion 14: of a head e0n1n1on to and eomprising er provided With the set of cylinders.

Dnring tl1e revolntion of the set of eylinders tl1e passages 13 will sneeessively eonnnnnieate in pairs Witl1 port 12. In een neeti0n with the foregoing, a paeking ring 01 IIO sleeve 15 is arranged between the head and the arbor, and is provided with a port 16, arranged over the port in the arbor and made of a sze t0 perrnit it to connect at any one time with two of the port-s 13, as best illustrated in Fig. 4:. The arb0r is reducd t0 form offsets 17, Fig. 5, adaptecl to provide seats for the encls of the packing ring 0r sleeve, and said arbor is also fnrther reduced in diameter betwecn snch offsets 0r seats, as at 18, so as to leave an annular space 19 between the ported portion 18 of the arbor and the packing-ring.

In order to expand the packing-ring to an extent te held it close against the rotary hub or 11ead and thereby prevent leakage through snch ports 13 as are out of register with the port in the packing-ring and thereby closed by said packing-ring, a spring 20 is coiled about the ported port-i011 of the arbor so as to lie between the same and the packingring Tl1is spring is coiled so as te cause it to tend te uncoil to an extent t0 press against the inner side of the packing-ring and tl1ns tend to expand the latten It will also be noted that the convolutions of said spring Will always be apart and hence insure the communication between ports 12 and 16 of the arbor andpacking-ring. It will be noted that by suel1 arrangement port 12 of: the arbor can be considerably smaller than port 16 through the packing-ring, since air entering port 16 will pass into the space between the ported porti0n 18 of the arb0r and said paoking-rng.

The arbor is provided wit-11 a suitalole checkvalve 7- to prevent back escape of ccmpressecl air. This valve is conveniently arrnged witl1in passage 11, Fig. 6, and opens toward the storage end of such passage. It will therefore per1nit air from the pistons to be forced throngh passage 11 past said valr*e in a direetion toward the point of storage, while on the other hand it will close with the storage pressure. Saicl valve is also preferably provided With a spring 21 te insure perfect werking, and has its seat 22 arranged Within passage 11.

As hereinbefore mentioned, however, said VtlV6 aan he dispensed Witli, since, owing to the arrangement of ports in the head and packing-ring, the p0rts after discharging the air from their allot ed cylinders will pass out of register With said port in the paeking-ring and henee will be closed. This closedcondition exists while the pistons are making their back 0r return strokes, and only terminates at tim es when the cylinders are ready for dischargng condensed air into the port of the packing. The foregoing matters therefore previde an automatic rotary V?tlW3 arrangement comprising a series of ports which, by

reason of the rotati0n of the head carrying a set of air-condensing piston-cylinders and pistons, successively open and close, as hereinbefore describcd.

It Will also be seen l1at the hollow sl1aft 01 arbor provided with a snitablyarranged port for1ns 0ne member of a rotary valve, and that the head or hub providecl with the pistoncylinders forms another member of such valve, and that the ports of said l1ead 01 111119 lead to the piston-cylinders.

The pist0n-heads 1 are valved so as to per- 1nit them to make tl1eir back str0kes. Fig. 7 illnstrates one of said valved piston-heads. Referrng te said iigure, the head 1 fits within the cylinder, and has a limited movable connection with its allotted 10d 2. T0 such end, the head is centrallybored to receive an end of the red, and is provided with a pin 22, whicl1 passes through a longitudinal slot 23 in the r0d, so as te limit the extent 0 relative longitndinal rn0vement between the head and r0d. The end of the rod is beveled er tapered, as at 24, and one end of the bore within the head is correspondingly tapered, as at 25,

-s0 as te form a seat for the tapered end 24 of the red. The walls of the b0re thr0ngh the head are also provided Witli longitudinallyarranged channels 26', (see also Fig. 8,) whieh said channels open at 0ne end of the head, but terminate short of seat 25. By such arrangement the rod serves as a valve and the seat 25 as a valve-seat, since, during the stroke of the piston in a direetion t0 compress air, said valve will be closed upon its seat, While on the other hand, during the back stroke of the piston, the tendency to create a vaouum back of the same Will cause the head t0 lag to an extent to open a passageway entirely throngh the head. Said pas sage-way is thns f0r1ned through channels 26 and the beveled end of the bore throngh the head, the beveled end of the red being at sueh time back fron1 seat 25 and opposite the channels 26.

As a 1neans for packing the piston-head 1 it is provided with an annular beveled or inclined seat 27 for an annular sheet-brass 01 metallic packing-ring L, whieh can be in two or more plies 0r layers. The packing-ring flares outwardly from its seat s0 as te bear again st the inner wall of the pistoncylinder, and by properly grinding the Outer hearing edge of such ring the enter layer, which bears against the nner wall of the cylinder, will be sharpened, and thereby provide an air-tight packing. Said ring is held against its seat by a nut M, which is serewed upon aneck 28 on the head and arranged to press said pack ing so as to cause the sanne te bear against the inner wall of the cylinder.

The nut M is cha-mbered, as at 29, te receive a lubrieant, and this ehamber can be supplied by way of a port 30, formed through the head and valved by any suitable means, for example, by a ball-valve 31, normally closed by a spring 32.

In place of revolving the set of piston-cylinders they could be held stationary, and the crank 1-I could be arranged t0 revolve, and l1ence in certain claims I desire t0 inclnde snch arrangement. My improved machine can be applied to a wind-wheel, a-s shown, er

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